The county government is readying for major expansion of Penrose Square, with funding to start flowing in about three years — an effort bringing accolades from several Columbia Pike organizations.
County Manager Mark Schwartz has included $4.27 million in funding for fiscal 2030 in his proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) set for a final County Board vote in mid-July.
The expansion would fulfill goals of the 2008 Penrose Square Master Plan. Creation of the public space coincided with development of the Penrose Square mixed-use development, anchored by a Giant Food supermarket.
For Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Columbia Pike Partnership, getting the expansion funded and completed represents “our top CIP priority.”
“That community asset will provide immediate benefit to the businesses, visitors and residents of the Pike,” Schneider told ARLnow.
Expansion of the public space will utilize property deeded by a developer to nearly double the park’s size.
Late last year, County Board members approved a plan by Toll Brothers Inc. to replace the aging Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center in the 2600 block of Columbia Pike with a 6-story mixed-use property with 271 apartments and about 15,000 square feet of retail space.
As part of the development agreement, Toll Brothers will turn over the easternmost 13,500-square-foot portion of the site to the county government for expansion of Penrose Square, which is located in the 2500 block of the Pike.
That will nearly double the existing 17,000-square-foot square, which opened in 2012 and is highlighted by a water feature that doubles as a popular summer spraypark.
It also is home to Echo, a sculpture by Richard Deutsch inspired by the Three Sisters Radio Towers that used to be located nearby.
Alex Sakes, president of the Penrose Neighborhood Association, said his organization was excited about the prospects of the expansion of Penrose Square as well as the new Toll Brothers project, called “The Elliott.”
“We look forward to working with the county to ensure both projects remain synchronized and on track for their respective completions,” he said.
The Columbia Pike community has waited for years to see redevelopment of Fillmore Gardens, and also has endured years of road construction that finally concluded earlier this year.
“My residents and our neighboring business community have been incredibly patient these last several years, and we are all hopeful for some light at the end of the tunnel,” Sakes said.
Schneider told ARLnow the goal is to align completion of the park “as closely as possible” with redevelopment of the old shopping center site.
His organization has been discussing the plan with County Board members, senior county staff, property owners and residents, Schneider said.
